Promising Practice Programs
Working with Older Women:
Resources and Standards for Responding to Current or Past Violence
| Agency | CASA House (Centre Against Sexual Assault) |
| Website | http://www.thewomens.org.au/SexualAssault |
| Contact | Jill Duncan, Training and Resources Worker CASA House (Centre Against Sexual Assault) Level 3, QVWC 210 Lonsdale Street Melbourne Vic 3053 Australia Phone +61 (03) 9347 3066 Fax +61 (03) 9347 1505 |
| Start date | September 2000 |
| End date | Ongoing |
| Program type | Community awareness/education Service provider training Training for community groups Advocacy programs Therapeutic responses to victim/survivors |
| Geographical area | Australia wide, urban and rural |
| Target group | Service providers |
| Description | The objectives were to: review sexual assault and domestic violence services currently available to and utilised by older women; based on the findings of this review, establish standards of practice for these services; ensure there are ongoing educative programs aimed at a broad range of service providers about support needs of older women experiencing or surviving violence. Strategies used: The standards of practice were incorporated with other resources in a manual. The contents of the manual are also presented in CD format for easy accessibility and modifiability for training and other resource purposes. Stake holder organisations were involved in the development of the project and manual through a reference group. A training partnership was developed with DVIRC for the development and delivery of the workshops. |
| Promising practice examples | Takes account of contemporary research and practice developments in the sexual assault and domestic violence fields. Based on the principle of diversity - that is that women born before 1950 constitute a distinct 'cultural group', susceptible to discrimination through ageism in service delivery. Contributes to improving system's responses to sexual assault through standards of practice for older women. Demonstrates a sensitivity to older women's issues in relations to barriers to disclosure and service delivery. Has a clearly defined conceptual framework - feminist framework of understanding of violence against women and access and equity issues for older women in services designed by and conducted in the main by younger women. Includes processes of accountability and evaluation within the standards of practice. Can be replicated in other services and modified for other program needs. |
| Philosophical framework | Feminist framework of understanding and responding to violence against women. Access and equity based on the premise that services and service providers need to consider what it is about them and what they do and how they do it which limits the access of some groups and individuals, as opposed to what is it about, in this case, older women that they don't use the services. |
| Research informing program | PADV (2000) 'Two Worlds Two Lives: Domestic Violence and Older People' draws a clear picture of the social and
cultural world of people born pre 1950 in regard to such matters as marriage, gender roles, violence, help seeking. CASA House (2000) 'Older Women's experience of violence: report on the older women and safety project' tells the experience of older women living with and surviving violence. Australian (Parker, 1999) and Melbourne (Mazza and others, 2001) longitudinal studies into women's health look particularly at the long term impacts and consequences of violence on cohorts of women born pre 1950. |
| Publications | Working with Older Women: Resources and Standards for Responding to Current or Past Violence. Jill Duncan, CASA House 2002. http://www.thewomens.org.au/SexualAssault |
| Evaluation | Internal. Written evaluations following attendance. |